Late night exploration
by Jem Doe
Summary: Albus and Scorpius looked at each other, hidden beneath the cover of the cloak of invisibility, and nodded when the old, almost decrepit cat went away, beckoned by its old, decrepit owner.


Albus and Scorpius looked at each other, hidden beneath the cover of the cloak of invisibility, and nodded when the old, almost decrepit cat went away, beckoned by its old, decrepit owner.

"This is the most bullshit plan you've ever made, Scorp,", whispered Albus, but Scorpius just grinned, the two of them silently moving through the hallways of Hogwarts until they reached their goal - the Room of Requirement.

Or, at least, what was left of it. His father had told him of it burning down, but James, in turn, had told him it still appeared, sometimes, making the hallway smell of smoke and tar for days. They hid in the shadows, Albus carefully folding the cloak as Scorpius tried to make the door appear.

It was futile, of course - it seemed that, with the fire, the door had gained sentience, appearing only when it wanted to, instead of being commanded by a student's will. No one could pinpoint why, but Albus' non-expert opinion was anger.

"I told you it wouldn't work,", Albus said, and Scorpius pouted a bit. He approached the other boy, touching lightly on his wrist - Scorpius' skin seemed to be permanently cold, and none of them could find a possible reason for this -, pulling the boy toward him. "Now come on, before Filch finds us."

"Aw, Al, we're on our last year, we should make some memories before we go, you know?", Scorpius stage-whispered, breath warm against his skin. Albus barely repressed a shiver, but it wasn't unpleasant. Far from it, actually. Scorpius kissed him for a second, but Albus had to say something.

"I hardly think 'memories' mean being on detention, Scorp!", Albus replied, when Scorpius let go of him, and he would've said more, hadn't it been by the sound of a door creaking. The two of them looked in the direction the sound had come from, revealing a half-charred door, fully open, the inside crackling with fire. "That looks dangerous."

"Well, maybe, but who knows!", Scorpius seemed excited with all this, making a bubblehead charm on himself, and Albus, letting go of his boyfriend, sighed. He could have such a one-track mind, when he wanted.

The two of them entered the Room of Requirement, and even with the charm over their heads, the smell of burnt paper was overpowering. Scorpius softly whispered a _Lumos,_ and Albus used that moment to close the door behind them, looking forward.

The place definitely was still burning, yes, but not as much as it could've been; only a few pyres remained, the floor mostly soot and ash as they moved forward, illuminated in orange and white tones. Scorpius seemed made of stained glass, in that soft lighting, awe shining in his grey eyes as the two moved between mazes of burnt things long left behind. The room was, maybe, two or three degrees higher than the outside, and Scorpius' cool hand was more than welcome, fingers interlaced between Albus'.

"Who do you think this guy was?", Scorpius asked, pointing with his wand to a statue of a man whose hat was burning. He had no idea how the hat was still burning. "Maybe some potioneer?"

Albus looked at the man's statue with half-lidded eyes, trying to concentrate.

"He was definitely a wizard, that I can say,", he decreed, taking a snorted laugh from Scorpius. Albus grinned - he found Scorpius' snort the cutest thing there was. "But, let's say… I bet he was a hatmaker."

"A hatmaker?", Scorpius grinned, kissing him lightly. "He doesn't look like someone who makes hats for a living, Al."

"Yeah, but he's wearing a _hat_ , so that should be proof enough, don't you think?", Albus pointed out, and Scorpius, still grinning, kept walking through the piles of things either half-burnt or half-burning. "What do you think was the purpose of this room? Originally, I mean."

"Storage room?", Scorpius guessed, picking up a book that seemed to only have been singed, somehow. He flipped through some of the pages, revealing some crude drawings of a professor neither of them seemed to recognize. "I mean, makes sense."

"Maybe.", Scorpius put back the book in its place, and they kept walking, fingers interlaced once more. "This probably came down as knowledge passed mouth to mouth, instead of written."

"Well, I did learn about this from my father, so probably.", Scorpius had a point, and Albus had to concede, kissing him once more. Kissing was nice enough for now. Perhaps they could do more on his bed… Or if the room provided a bed.

He looked around, unable to recognize his surroundings or of seeing the door, and turned to his boyfriend. "Wanna go back to the dorm before we are fated to wander this room forever, lost until another pair of students finds us, whenever that may be?"

"Can we make out in your bed?", Scorpius asked, changing the subject, as the two turned back on their path, passing once more by the statue with a hat.

"Yeah, sure,", Albus hummed, Scorpius kissing him once more. That had been fun - perhaps they could do that once more.


End file.
